eric pele ultimate fighting

I met Eric completely by chance- a few doors down from my hotel was a tattoo shop. I wandered in one day to check out the flash, and heard a couple of guys talking about the upcoming UFC that night. I went over and chatted with them for a while, explaining how I was involved in MMA, and one of them (a guy called Jerry) said, "Oh, you should meet Eric".

"Eric who?"

"Eric Pele, he works here"

*Speechless* "What?"

"Yeah, he works weekends. Come in tomorrow and he should be around"

"Woo-hoo!"

And so I got to meet King of the Cage Super Heavy contender Eric Pele in his hometown of Vegas. Eric trains and fights out of John Lewis’ J-Sect academy. A purple belt in BJJ and an accomplished wrestler, Eric has been a regular in KOTC for some time, and now faces his biggest opportunity this weekend as he fights relative newcomer Dan Christianson for the title. Eric was meant to be fighting Jimmy "The Titan" Ambriz, but Ambriz was lured by big bucks to Japan to fight Josh Barnett.

He gets pride of place in my memory as the most unusual interview I have ever conducted, as he was tattooing a flower on the back of a girls neck as I was talking to him! Luckily she didn’t seem to mind (I think she was a little distracted what with the pain and all) and we went on to chat for some time about him and his career.

Eric is a true gentle giant (at least out of the ring he is). Softly spoken, so laid back you’d think he was half-asleep, he is an all-round nice guy. We went for some food after he finished work that evening (Eric’s favourite pastime I think!) and I met his friends and his wife. We spoke for a few hours about the MMA scene, and he and his running partner Ulysses were keen to find out more about the scene here in Europe.

The stories they kept coming out with blew me away- Ulysses telling me about the day he walked upstairs at the J-Sect academy to find Chuck Liddell rolling with Gilbert Yvel practising Jiu-Jitsu, Eric telling me how he and Frank Mir are 1 and 1 in BJJ competition ( a bitter look comes across his face when he talks about it- he feels he was robbed and he should be 2-0), and telling me how Kimo comes in the shop to buy the "specialist paraphenelia" available in the retail section of the parlour.

Monday morning came and I met Eric at the gym to watch him train for his upcoming fight- I was truly surprised. He was adamant he was being sluggish, but I was genuinely surprised by his speed and power. When you see 340 lbs rushing in to someone throwing straight punches, it makes you glad you’re not the one in the ring.

Eric introduced me to the guys after his session; "Saigon" Skipper Kelp, boxing coach at J-Sect and University of Las Vegas; Todd Lally, his kickboxing coach and Tom Mcgarner; ex kickboxing champion from the early 90s and sparring partner for the big man. The problem with Eric is his difficulty in finding willing sparring partners- understandable I suppose; it’d be like offering yourself to a rhinoceros as target practise wearing a huge red target.

Eric sparring with Tom Mgarner, looking on is "saigon skipper" Kelp

That evening, we went across town to the apartment complex where Phil Baroni lives- fresh back from his moonlighting stint as a commentator at UFC 42, Phil put Eric through his paces on a gruelling circuit, and for those doubters who say that the big guys never do any cardio? Bah, you’re all idiots. Just cause someone maybe big, doesn’t mean they’re unfit.

Driving around Vegas later that night with Eric and Phil was a bit of a "pinch me" moment. Here I was, valley-boy done-good, cruising around with two top professional fighters. At that point, life just didn’t get any better (until Eric took me to Hooters of course  )

My sincerest thanks to Eric for being a great host and my best wishes to him in his upcoming fight.

Hywel & Eric

Hywel Teague : So how long have you been a Tattooist?

Eric Pele : Around 5 years now.

How did you get into that?

Eric Pele : I was always an artist, and I started collecting tattoos. I met a friend that started tattooing and he taught me. It wasn’t easy, but it was pretty good. I decided it was what I wanted to do.

So you its something you really enjoy?

Eric Pele : Yeah, I’ve always loved art.

So what did you do before you were a tattooist?

Eric Pele : I was a construction worker. A construction worker and bouncer. Big guy jobs, fat guy jobs! (Laughs)

So what was your first type of training?

Eric Pele : I came from a wrestling background. I wrestled through high school; I got a scholarship to college. I wrestled for them for a while, and then I got into partying and stuff, and my priorities got kind of… You know. I wrestled for one year and then I got out.

So after the wrestling, what was the chain of events that found you fighting in MMA?

Eric Pele : Well actually I just wanted to get back into shape, quite a few years went by, I was like 27… I was out of shape, and I was always looking around. I ran into John Lewis, and he was telling me about Jiu-Jitsu, and all I wanted to do was wrestle and get back into shape. It came from there. I started doing Jiu-Jitsu and I was pretty good at it you know?

So what was the spark that got you into the cage?

Eric Pele : I think it was just the next stage… I did the Mundials, I did all the BJJ stuff, I just wanted to try something new.

You’ve been working on your boxing a lot recently?

Eric Pele : Yeah. I always worked on my boxing, but I really picked it up with Marvin Eastman, and my coach as well, Skipper Kelp. He’s head boxing coach at University of Las Vegas. To be honest with you, I want to be that kind of fighter. They like to see the big guys throw!

So are we gonna start to see you throw high kicks in your next fight?

Eric Pele : You know, I can’t quite get that high but maybe some mid kicks (laughs)

So you’re training full time now…

Eric Pele : Yeah, Monday to Friday. I have Phil Baroni, he’s my weight trainer, that’s three times a week. Then I have Aqil in the afternoon, he’s my conditioning trainer, and I finish the night off with Marvin.

To be honest with you, I try to avoid training on the ground. I’m not slick like Frank Mir, you can only be so slick at 340lbs.

Lets talk a little bit about your fight career. You had a few problems with the change of opponents for your next match.

Eric Pele : Yeah Jimmy Ambriz got a chance to go to Japan, and all I can say about that is good for him. Why fight me for pennies when he can make real good money over there?

Who have you got lined up for your next fight now? (It has been announced that Eric will be fighting Dan Christianson)

Eric Pele : Well it was going to be Bobish and me part two, but he wanted more money or something. These are just rumours, but it was either that he wanted more money or that he had a pro-wrestling deal come through.

So your opponent is from New Mexico…

Eric Pele : He’s from the same camp as the guy who beat Javier Vasquez recently.

He seems to be a bit of an unknown quantity?

Eric Pele : Yeah he’s unknown, I know he lost to Dan Severn, but that was a bit controversial. But like I said I don’t have no stats on this guy. It’s too late to worry about it now.

Your fight is in about three weeks. What do you usually do preparation-wise this close to a fight?

Eric Pele : Right now, it’s all about breaking my body down for the next two weeks, and then in the last week build myself back up so I peak for the fight.

You were pretty disappointed about your last fight. (Eric lost badly to Dan Bobish)

Eric Pele : Yeah, I’m the last one to make any excuses. Bobish came to fight, no excuses, he kicked my ass. He deserved to win, because I came in there half-assed, and you can’t afford to go in there half-assed.

Was it more mental than physical that posed you problems?

Eric Pele : Not really, I had a bronchial infection, and I gained a lot of weight, I was 385lbs for that fight. There was a little bit of a background problem with the management, but the last decision was mine, and I shouldn’t have taken the fight.

So has this made you alter your training, have you gone back to the drawing board?

Eric Pele : I just got my priorities straight. Either you’re in or you’re in. If not then step out. I’m losing a lot of money cause its spring break and work is really busy but I’ve been in the gym. But now that I’ve got my priorities straight, I’m really out for that belt.

What’s has been the best moment in your career so far?

Eric Pele : If you watch my fights, I really like the way I have progressed. If you watch my early fights right from when I started up to Sean Alvarez. I just want to get better and better. I love this sport, I love this game.

What kind of Eric Pele are we to expect in this upcoming fight?

Eric Pele : A real quick one! Its gonna be real quick, I’m looking to finish this one as soon as possible, I’m looking to get him out of there.

And your ambitions?

Eric Pele : I want to get that belt, and I seriously want to get to Japan. Japan is the only place that really pays the big guys.

And they love the big guys don’t they?

Eric Pele : They do, they love us (laughs)

Who would you most like to fight?

Eric Pele : Bob Sapp. Just to fight him. It’d be a war.

Where do you see yourself going after this next fight?

Eric Pele : If in a year, I’m not really making any money then I’ll quit. I’ll concentrate on the painting, tattooing, airbrushing.

What’s your knowledge of the UK and European scene like?

Eric Pele : I like the guys from Holland; they’ve got great Thai fighters. Ian Freeman is obviously one of the premier UK fighters- I was meant to fight him ages ago in the UFC. There were issues with my weight and they wouldn’t take me.

All I can say is thanks a lot, and good luck in your next fight man. Hope to see you in the UK one day.

Eric Pele : Thanks a lot man, do you reckon I can get a free vacation out of it? (Laughs)

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